leaf spring swap

Hoping to grab a new set of leaf springs from @stevenlee on my upcoming trip to Vancouver. Any resources or step-by-step for the swap? I didn't have much luck simply searching the term. Am I mechanically stupid to think this is something I can tackle in my driveway? Any input is much appreciated!

It’s not bad to do if the rust doesn’t fight you and you can get the van high enough in the air to relax the springs/axle so that you can install the ones you get

It's a pretty simple swap.

Not sure if your van is lifted or not. Only thing that affects is how tall of a jack stand you will need. I had to use some Big Reds with some wood stacked underneath just because I was dealing with lifted springs and extended shackles.

The forward nuts and bolts are very high torque. Something like 150nm. Be aware of that when you reinstall. Double check that number.

You may mess up your U-bolts. Get those cleaned and put some penetrant in there. Maybe be ready with a torch. During an install we had to chop one bolt off and sheered the U-bolt at another nut.

• Jack the van up from the rear diff first, rest on the jack stands.
• Pull the wheels
• Support the rear diff with your jack.
• Have the rear suspension just a little compressed but not enough to take weight off the jack stands.
• Loosen the U-bolts but don't remove the top plate yet.
• Undo and remove the shackles from the spring. Try to keep the springs in a neutral arch. If you cannot remove the shackle easily, its because the spring is pushing or pulling. Just adjust the height of the rear axle during this step, you should not have to fight the shackle too much if the spring is sitting just right.
• Slowly lower the rear diff - using the weight of the axle this will help to pull the front of the leaf from the forward mount. Undo the top plate on the leaf.
• Or remove the top plate first, separate the axle from the leaf and just use a dead blow to get the leaf out of the forward mount.
• It would be helpful to keep the shocks in place so the diff doesn't roll or totally fall away. No need to lower too far, just enough to give you some working room. You will need more space when you install the new springs since they have more arch to them. This may require that you loosen the lower shock bolts in the event the axle needs to go a little further down.
• It's worthwhile to replace the bushings for the shackles. They are super cheap. Also, replace the rubber leaf pads between the leaf pack, axle and upper plate.
• When getting it back together, getting the forward bolt in may be a bit challenging. Clean the area as best as you can and get some grease in there to help slide things around. This will likely prove to be the most frustrating part. You may get it close but not perfect, jam a screw driver in there to hold it in place, get the rear shackle connected, bring the axle up to the spring to help support it and then just guide the front bushing and hole till they align.
• Lastly, have fun with it!

Still haven't tackled this yet but thanks so much for the detailed outline. I was sold the wrong leaf springs (got five springs for lifted vans instead of the stock four), I was told to remove the fourth leaf to make them "stock" but would love confirmation from the community on that. Thanks!

Hey Cody, I’m sure you can remove a leaf from the pack. However, my experience in doing that with the Iron Man I kind of wouldn’t say that’s the best idea. it will change the load rating differently depending on which leaf you pull and if you’re goofing around off road and getting a little rowdy, you may end up with issues due to the gap created by pulling a spring.

I don’t know if that’s really a thing but when I folded my Iron Man pack the damage occurred in this big gap that existed from where I removed one leaf.

CodyHennigan said:

Still haven't tackled this yet but thanks so much for the detailed outline. I was sold the wrong leaf springs (got five springs for lifted vans instead of the stock four), I was told to remove the fourth leaf to make them "stock" but would love confirmation from the community on that. Thanks!

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I'm curious how you're doing with this. Make any headway?

I contacted rising sun today looking for leafs and was sent the following picture. Is that the same guy you bought yours from?

When I asked if they were HD or for lifted vehicles he didn't reply.

Is this what you recieved?

Those are the same 5 leaf springs I was incorrectly sold. If you have a stock van you should only have 4. I texted Steven yesterday and he said he still doesn't have them in stock. He's supposed to be shipping me replacements when he gets them so we'll see how it goes. I don't feel comfortable just removing a leaf given others' experience with it failing.

5 pack springs could raise 0.8 cm than 4 pack's.

CodyHennigan said:

Those are the same 5 leaf springs I was incorrectly sold. If you have a stock van you should only have 4. I texted Steven yesterday and he said he still doesn't have them in stock. He's supposed to be shipping me replacements when he gets them so we'll see how it goes. I don't feel comfortable just removing a leaf given others' experience with it failing.

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That sounds frustrating! Thanks for confirming these aren't the correct oem replacements.

stevenlee said:

5 pack springs could raise 0.8 cm than 4 pack's.

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@stevenlee

I'm mentioning you as this issue seems fairly serious and you're passing it off as though it's not important... IMHO, you've done @CodyHennigan wrong and it's important for me to support them.

It looks like you are selling a different part to what you've been asked for. First to the Cody, and then tried to do the same to me 2 days ago.

When questioned about it, you're providing instructions to modify the part to make it almost the same thing that it was being advertised as in the first place?

Considering you're charging over 1k for the items AND it's a bit of work to replace, this is quite bad...

I would like to understand though... Would you be open to providing more information to everyone on what you've been selling? As in, what it's from, and how it compares dimensionally?

There's a lot more to this than just stock ride height. There's also the differential angle with the transmission and different packs could alter that fairly significantly. This could lead to added wear to the diff seals, bearings, rear u-joints, and propshaft to name what comes to mind immediately.

Then there's the idea that if it does raise the vehicle, and you're selling it as a stock replacement, will it bottom out stock rear shocks? That could do all kinds of damage.

It's very possible an honest mistake happened. However, given Cody contacted you, you told him to modify the parts to make it stock, THEN you tried to sell me the same item when I asked, it's obviously not being done by mistake.

@stevenlee

In my honest opinion, I think as a minimum, that if you have integrity and sold the wrong part to @CodyHennigan that you should make make it up to him.

We have supplied Hyundai Grace leaf springs for L300 application since 2012. Mitsubishi OEM would go around cad$1800 over. The thing is Hyundai 4 pack springs are not available anymore, and only 5 pack springs are partially produced for Hyundai Grace. It is a direct fit to L300. Lots of my customers who bought these have been happy. 5 pack springs are much better than retired stock or for heavy load at back. Many Hyundai parts are almost same as part for L300/4D56. I don't feel any obligation to explain details. It is same as if buying a Hyundai OEM timing belt. No one ask why???

I'm having trouble understanding how a 5-leaf spring intended for vans lifted 2"+ would only be a .8cm difference for stock vans? Maybe @Growlerbearnz or @sk66 could add some insight into the variances between what is supposed to be stock (4 leaf springs) and what is being sold as a stock substitute (5 leaf springs). You state you don't feel you have an obligation to explain but I drove from Oregon to Vancouver and paid $1k for this part (not to mention the front windshield I bought), so I do feel you have an obligation to help with understanding the difference or replacing the part with what you stated was for the stock van we were standing in front of when you sold me the springs.

5 pack spring is for stock height. not for 2 inch lift use. You must use extended shackles with many other things for lift up. You bought them in special pre Covid-19 price!

CodyHennigan said:

I'm having trouble understanding how a 5-leaf spring intended for vans lifted 2"+ would only be a .8cm difference for stock vans?

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.8cm would be the thickness of the extra leaf. There is no such thing as leaf springs intended for a 2" lift... but there is such a thing as leaf springs that will give a 2" lift because they are overarched compared to stock (or overarched when installed because they are too long). It is also quite common for someone to say new leafs lifted the rear suspension; even if it only "lifted" a droopy ass back to where it's supposed to be.

The only thing I can say is that these are obviously heavier duty leaf springs. Often heavier duty leaf springs also have a higher arch... it doesn't appear obviously so to me, but I'm no expert on what new OEM springs would look like either. Heavier duty leafs will also provide a firmer/harsher ride if empty; but are desirable if the van is heavily loaded.

stevenlee said:

5 pack spring is for stock height. not for 2 inch lift use. You must use extended shackles with many other things for lift up. You bought them in special pre Covid-19 price!

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@stevenlee What do you mean pre-Covid pricing? I bought them last November and paid the $990 you currently have them listed at.